Skiing in Ischgl

Skiing in Ischgl

Ischgl is rightly famous as a ski resort that knows how to party hard, but the crowds of visitors don’t flock back year after year just for the après-ski. Only 90 minutes from Innsbruck, Ischgl is just as celebrated for its 238km of varied pistes, with snow guaranteed throughout the season.

Ischgl’s pistes are mainly geared to the intermediate or advanced skier, but there are also excellent nursery slopes, where beginners can safely find their feet. A gondola will take you to the top of these pistes, on the Idalp.

For intermediate skiers, the Silvretta Ski Arena covers six valleys and offers 50 blue and red pistes. The slopes are served by 43 lifts, 10 of which reach a height of 2,700m, and routes back to the village include snow canyons, north-facing slopes and beautiful stretches of alpine forest.

For those who are looking for something even more challenging, though, the Ischgl area offers just as many off-piste slopes. The new Piz Val Gronda gondola can take you high up to the freeriding slopes of the Fimbatal Valley, a paradise for expert skiers.

Ischgl lies near the Swiss border, and some of the slopes accessible from the state-of-the-art system of lifts (many high-speed, and some heated) take you down to Samnaun, across the border, which is included in the local area pass. Even if you don’t want to take advantage of Samnaun’s duty-free status, you can at least boast that you’ve skied all the way to another country.

Magnificent as the slopes are, though, Ischgl itself has plenty to offer. It’s a picturesque village, which can be explored via a network of underground tunnels and escalators, but it’s at night that it really comes to life. Featuring a range of bars, cafés, restaurants and nightclubs that would do credit to a sophisticated urban setting, the village provides an impressive choice of après-ski. The style and character may vary, but all have that unmistakable Ischgl capacity to party hard all night.

Whether you go for the exhilaration of Ischgl’s slopes or the exuberance of its nightlife — or both, if you have plenty of stamina — you can be assured of an unforgettable holiday.